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Monolithe
Monolithe is a French doom metal band from Paris, Île-de-France formed in 2001 by Sylvain Bégot, also a former member of Anthemon and Upon the Deep. They are distinguished by the iconoclasm of its concept (a saga spread over several albums, albums consisting of a single and very long song), by the flexibility of its line-up and by its extraordinary approach of the style of music they practice (including the eradication of a number of clichés inherent in doom metal). Monolithe's discography is currently composed of seven albums, as well as two mini-albums and two compilations. In 2017, Monolithe signed with the French label Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions and released their 7th album Nebula Septem on January 26, 2018. History Origins (2001–2002) Monolithe, contrary to what the notes inside the album books or the communication of the formation might suggest, is not strictly speaking a band in the traditional sense of the word but rather the project of a single member. surrounding musicians for the realization of his records. Monolithe is therefore primarily a project led by its creator Sylvain Bégot (ex-Anthemon). An excerpt from an interview given to the Violent Solution webzine summarizes the genesis of Monolithe: The official biography also stresses the links between Monolithe and Stanley Kubrick's 2001 film, 2001: Space Odyssey. The creation of the project in 2001 and the inspiration of the black monolith of Kubrick's film for the name of the band and the elaboration of the concept of Monolithe suggests that the search for a great coherence of all the aspects of music, The band's texts and imagery have been a priority since the genesis to obtain a very strong artistic identity. From Monolithe I to Interlude Premier (2002–2011) In 2002, the band signed with Appease Me... (label of the members of Blut aus Nord). On June 1, 2003, they released their first album Monolithe I. It was recorded, mixed and mastered in March 2003 at Studio RR by Marc Canlers and Sylvain Bégot. In 2004, they signed with Candlelight Records following a rapprochement between them and Appease Me ... In April 2005 released the band's second album, Monolithe II. It was recorded, mixed and mastered in February, March and April 2004 at Studio RR by Marc Canlers and Sylvain Bégot. In 2006, Monolithe appeared on a compilation titled Phoenix Risen - A Candlelight Records Compilation alongside other groups who signed with the label. The title is an excerpt of about five minutes from the album Monolithe II. The band announced in January 2007 its intention to offer a mini-CD for free download on its official website, asking in return for a financial contribution in the form of non-mandatory donation. It would be a "new music distribution experience" which, if it works, will be renewed. In March 2007, they released the mini album Interlude Premier (offered free via the group's website) at Red Reed Releases. The band broke up before this release with Candlelight Records following problems with the label (revealed in an interview given to the Czech webzine Necrosphere). Monolithe also participated in an album tribute to the Finnish band Skepticism, entitled Entering the Levitation (released in late 2007), on which they cover the title "Edges". This cover is particularly well received. The band posted a promotional teaser video in April 2007 in anticipation of the release of its new album. A second video, of the same type as the first, was released in October 2007. A few seconds of music probably from the new album are heard. From Interlude Second to Zeta Reticuli (2012–2017) In January 2012 released a mini album titled Interlude Second (free on the band's Bandcamp page), and its third album Monolithe III via Debemur Morti Productions. Monolithe III was recorded from March to May 2012 at the Red Reed Studio by Sylvain Bégot, mixed and mastered in June 2012 at Hybreed Studio by Andrew Guillotin. In 2013, the band released its fourth album Monolithe IV, - end of the 1st cycle. It was recorded from February to May 2012 at the Red Reed Studio by Sylvain Bégot, mixed and mastered in June 2013 at Hybreed Studio by Andrew Guillotin. In 2014, they released the compilation Monolithe Zero. In 2015, the fifth album Epsilon Aurigae - beginning of the second cycle - was released, then the band announced for June 2016 the release of the sixth album Zeta Reticuli - end of the second cycle. Epsilon Aurigae was also recorded at Red Reed Studio by Sylvain Bégot, The recording of drums, mixing and mastering at Hybreed Studio was held by Andrew Guillotin. Zeta Reticuli was released on July 8, 2016 via Debemur Morti Productions. Nebula Septem (2018) Nebula Septem was recorded with 7 musicians, because following the departure of Richard Loudin, the vocals were assured on this album by Sébastien Pierre (Enshine, Fractal Gates, Cold Insight ...) and Rémi Brochard, new official singer of Monolithe. Rémi takes all the choirs and vocals in the song he co-wrote with Sylvain Bégot: "Delta Scuti". Since Sébastien could not invest in Monolithe daily, Rémi remains the only singer on board. While the line-up contains 7 musicians, the concept still takes place, because Monolithe innovates again by changing format: Nebula Septem contains 7 songs, exactly clocking in at 7 minutes each, of which each title begins with one of the first 7 letters of the alphabet. Each piece is composed in the tone of its "initial letter": A for La, B for Si, C for Do etc. Formation A peculiarity of Monolithe is not to have a fixed line-up until 2015, with the exception of its founder Sylvain Bégot. For the 15 years of the band, Bégot decided to set up a line-up of seven musicians, in order to be able for the first time of his career, to approach the live aspect of the project. In an interview dated October 2003, he explained the first choice: In the booklet of Monolithe II, Sylvain Bégot is credited as an interpreter in charge of guitars & devices, which is reminiscent of Robert Fripp and his band King Crimson, also credited in this way and whose band also has variable geometry. The term "device" probably refers here programming (such as drums or keyboards for example), the design and addition of samples, and various "hacking" studio. Image Although Monolithe does not seem to attach much importance to his visual communication apart from that of his albums (very few photographs, retouched pictures so that the faces are not visible, minimalist website), the imagery of the band concerning its music strongly marks their identity and their iconoclastic displayed. The album covers differ radically from those used for this kind of music, whose iconography usually respects a number of codes inherent in the style. The cover of Monolithe I showing a black monolith in the middle of the desert (probably a reference to Stanley Kubrick's film) does not inform the public about the nature of the music played on the record, just like that of Monolithe II (the Earth surrounded by a kind of green cloud). As in 2001: Space Odyssey, a jump in time seems to have been made between these two albums, the first referring to the dawn of humanity, the second to his escape from his cradle, the Earth. The cover of Interlude Premier, it consists of a gigantic monolith (whose appearance has nothing to do with that of the film or cover of the first album) standing in a blue sky. The contrast between this brightly colored cover and the very extreme nature of the music of the album is very marked. The artwork of Monolithe III seems to mark a return to space (logical continuation of that of Monolithe II and not Interlude Premier), with a style even more bare. A black background, a glow and the band's logo can be seen, surmounted by an M'' and a ''III in the style of the logo whose alignment forms a geometric figure. Musical Style The musical style of Monolithe I and Monolithe II contains both recurring elements and others that distinguish these two albums from one another. There are for example slow tempos (with sensitive accelerations at times), under-tuned guitars and growls, typical elements of doom metal, present on both albums. The guitars play on two levels, namely minimalism (with, for example, riffs consisting of only a few chords or even a single accord repeated over and over) or harmonic richness (some parts are very well arranged, including a great harmonic research and solid sound space management (treble, midrange and bass) and stereo space (especially through twins leads, ie two harmonized solo guitars placed to the left and right, respectively). pannel stereo) Keyboards have a rather 'spatial' character on both albums Overall, the music of Monolithe can be described as heavy, slow, atmospheric and hypnotizing. The albums, by their nature, listen in one go and therefore ask for a proper mindset to be appreciated. One of the characteristics of Monolithe is to include without its music some parts in major mode, extremely unusual for doom metal, to give at times a feeling of optimism in a fundamentally dark and negative music. Monolithe I and Monolithe II are, despite their similarities, two different albums in form and substance. While the first gives off a solemn and mystical atmosphere, almost religious, the second is much more "sad" and focused on the beauty of the melodies. Monolithe II is also distinguished from its predecessor by the use of an accordion, by a more "realistic" drum programming (while the cold and mechanical side of a programmed drums seems to be fully assumed on I'') and a bass more present and more technical. There is the resumption of a melodic theme of ''Monolithe I on Monolithe II but only the time of a short measure (in the middle of album). Interlude Premier, as announced a long time in advance by the group, differs from the two previous albums by its more extreme and more radical nature. The song "Monolithic Pillars" is extremely dark, leaving room for many dissonances and unusual experiments in this kind of music (use of a vocoder, samples and various sounds, we can even distinguish the zither), and its structure is particularly choppy, unlike the fluid construction of previous albums. It also has a more crude, more extreme production. However, it still contains the elements that are the mark of the band, namely the "double soli", the tablecloths of atmospheric keyboards and especially melodic parts made in major mode. Concept and Musical Themes The Diary / FAQ section of the former official website gives, to the question "What is the concept of Monolithe?" The following answer: "Each album consists of one long song. The name of the band and the concept complement each other in this way: a unique title, massive, slow and heavy, and a strong reference to the film 2001: Space Odyssey. Monolithe tells a story that speaks of the origins of humanity, developed in several volumes. Then, to the question "What do the texts mean?" The answer: "Monolithe deals with the origin of humanity. Monolithe I is the foundation - the prologue - of history while Monolithe II and the following albums will further explore this mystery." Thus, based on these summary explanations and those given in various promotional interviews given on the occasion of the outings of Monolithe I and Monolithe II, it can be deduced that the concept behind Monolithe touches as much the substance as the form: the word "monolith" evokes both a big and heavy rock (gold, doom metal is a slow, heavy, and overwhelming music), a single but massive object (the albums have only one long long), and describes the nature of the project (a one-man band, although the founder of the band is not the only performer). Moreover, the reference to the black monolith of 2001: Space Odyssey and the will to attack the origins of humanity also give clues as to the meaning of the texts and the report to the choice of the name Monolithe . One can imagine that the story narrated in the texts of Monolithe I, Monolithe II and Interlude Premier are inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film on the premise that monoliths are artifacts intended to help and guide Man in his progress towards intelligence, civilization, mastery of the tool and expansion in space. An interview given to the Metal Throne webzine in 2004 confirms the "science fiction-esque" content of the band's concept and texts. The band mentioned several times in interviews that the end of the saga narrated over the texts of the various albums by the band would also mark the end of Monolithe. According to an interview with the webzine Ad Nihilum, the complete work consisted of five albums and two mini-albums (Interlude Premier and Interlude Second). Although the band did not give explicit explanations, it seems that only the mini-albums were available for free online since Monolithe III was released via Appease Me. Influences The style of music that Monolithe plays is easily identifiable. Although rid of many clichés specific to doom metal (for example the album covers, the textual approach, the content of the music...) the music of the formation clearly belongs to this sub-genre of extreme metal. Sometimes we speak of funeral doom, although Monolithe deny this affiliation in part. The band is often compared to some pioneers or "giants" of the style like Skepticism, early Anathema, My Dying Bride or Shape of Despair. Although these comparisons are in justified parts, Monolithe's influences go well beyond doom metal. These are partly revealed in a 2005 interview: Members Current members * Benoît Blin – guitar, vocals (2001–present) * Sylvain Bégot – guitar, bass, keyboards, programming (2001–present) * Rémi Brochard – vocals (2017–present), guitare (2015–present) * Matthieu Marchand – keyboards, programming (2015) * Olivier Defives – bass (2015–present) * Thibault Faucher – drums (2015–present) Former members * Sébastien Pierre – vocals (2017) * Richard Loudin – vocals (2001–2017) * Emmanuel Mechling – accordion * Kristofer Lorent – bass * Marc Canlers – bass, keyboards * Nicolas Chevrollier – guitar * Laurent Desvignes – vocals * Sébastien Latour – keyboards, programming Discography Studio albums * Monolithe I (2003) * Monolithe II (2005) * Monolithe III (2012) * Monolithe IV (2013) * Epsilon Aurigae (2015) * Zeta Reticuli (2016) * Nebula Septem (2018) Extended plays * Interlude Premier (2007) * Interlude Second (2012) Compilations * Monolithe Zero (2014) * Epsilon Aurigae / Zeta Reticuli (2016) List of Known Tours External Links References Category:Band Category:France Category:Doom Metal Category:Funeral Doom Metal Category:Death/Doom Category:Paris